A Leap of Faith
by MargravineB
Summary: Clarke and Lexa kissed but didn't sleep together, giving Clarke enough time to find Octavia and ride out for Arcadia. No Murphy, no Titus, no shooting, no lesbian death. Only sweet, sweet love.
The horses were fast, as Titus promised.

They'd arrived just before dawn, with barely enough time to spare. Even with the thick white fog slithering on the ground in the greyness of early morning, Clarke could see dark shapes milling on the horizon as the Grounder army surrounded Arkadia. A force assembled to fight the Ice Nation, but now surrounding her own people. Though they had no one to blame for that but themselves.

"Clarke," Octavia breathed, worried as she turned her head left and right, as if trying to find a way out but seeing none.

"I know." Clarke said. "But this is a good thing. Pike will have to see that he has no other option but to surrender." _The rest will surely follow. They had to. Even Bellamy, as stubborn as he was, would have to…_

Excited voices reached them as they approached the gate, coupled with the soft thumps of boots on the ground. The guards on the walls noticed the Grounder army, no doubt Clarke's return as well, and Arkadia was mobilizing. So when the gates opened for them and they rode inside to find Pike already waiting in the centre of the yard, a rifle hanging from his shoulder, Clarke wasn't surprised. Say what you want about the man, but he had their people alert and organized. Too bad he was so determined to make them all war criminals.

"Clarke." He called when they were barely inside the walls, the gates creaking closed behind them at his gesture. "It is good to see you again. Though I hoped it would be under better circumstances."

Clarke stopped her horse, but didn't dismount, noticing the quickly expanding crowd forming around them. Most of the faces appeared happy to see her though she noticed some - the majority the armed guards - watching her with mistrust. Others even with open hostility. She turned to Pike again, pitching her voice to carry over the crowd.

"I wish I could say the same," she began, "and the unfortunate circumstances were of your own doing." She didn't see the need for false pleasantries. The man was her teacher once but she could hardly recognize him now, with a clenched jaw and hard, feverish eyes watching her intently.

"Right to the business, eh?" Pike said, a ghost of a smile flicking over his features before it was wiped clean again. "Have it your way. What do you want? Why have you come? We thought you were busy making yourself at home in Polis."

Clarke took a deep breath, letting her gaze fly over the crowd again. She was speaking to each of them, not just Pike. Desperately hoping that they would hear her instead of blindly following their new Chancellor.

"I came carrying an offer for peace." Immediately, there was a murmur of surprise from the crowd, but Pike tensed. Clarke continued ignoring him, her voice rising. "The Commander of the Twelve Clans condemns the recent actions of the Sky People but recognizes that the massacre of her army was carried out by a small group of people in charge."

Pike's jaw clenched and he stepped forward, but Clarke hurried on. "She still wishes to form an alliance with any of the Sky Clan uninterested in committing further war crimes. She offers-"

"You really expect us to believe that? An army was sent to camp near our walls, and you think we'd swallow that it was there for any other reason than to attack? We've seen far too much to believe that, Clarke. The Farm Station was that naïve once, and we've paid for it in blood. I won't let Arkadia make the same mistake." He finished hotly, his breath getting agitated, but Clarke forced herself to answer evenly.

"You've suffered at the hands of the Ice Nation and yet you slaughtered the Tree Nation for their crimes. And even after the Commander delivered the corpse of the Ice Nation Queen to your doorstep, you still attacked a civilian village – children and elders only - in the dead of night." A couple of gasps could be heard from the crowd and Clarke guessed this wasn't common knowledge. She decided to underline the point. "Their warriors were slaughtered a few days before in their sleep while guarding our walls..The village was _defenseless_."

"We needed - we _need_ \- fertile soil if we want to have any chance of survival!" Pike exclaimed, coming closer again. "We have to be prepared to do _anything_ to keep our people alive. I heard about the Mountain. I know what you did there." Clarke twitched but her gaze held firm, not giving him the satisfaction of reacting to his words.

"Then, you understood what was necessary to survive on the ground, Clarke. What have they done to you in Polis to make you change your mind? What have they offered you?" He seemed genuinely disappointed and Clarke started to realize that Pike was very likely too far gone to be reached. Still, she had to try to get to as many people as possible. She lifted her chin proudly as he continued to speak, digging his own grave. "I still had hope for you. I'm sad to see that bright girl I taught when she was a child turned into this – a traitor to her own people. Spouting Grounder lies and trying to lead us all to our deaths."

"You are the one doing that, Pike. It's sad you can't even see that." She said quietly, disappointed with her old teacher as well. Then, she lifted her head and called out over the crowd. "Sky people! The Commander offers shelter and supplies and territory for the Skaikru as the Thirteenth Clan to anyone willing to denounce Pike and follow me now. She offers peace and an alliance if you go, and death and revenge if you support the war criminal Pike and decide to stay. Blood will have blood tonight. Come with me if-"

Pike wouldn't let her finish. "She _offers_ to lead you like cattle to slaughter!" He roared. "As soon as you leave these walls, unarmed and defenseless, you will be cut down, and when she attacks, she will face a smaller army. The plan is obvious as it is cruel!"

Clarke clenched her jaw, letting out a short breath when she saw Bellamy pushing through the crowd. He stopped next to Pike, and she knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. She swallowed thickly. Perhaps Pike wasn't the only one too far gone to save.

"She left us to die at the Mountain, Clarke." Bellamy pleaded. "Our lives mean nothing to her; didn't mean anything even then. She will kill us all."

"Like you killed those 300 warriors while they slept?" She bit off, glad when she saw him twitch as if hit.

She remembered Lexa protecting them, standing in front of her own people and ordering them not to attack, risking her life in the process. Bellamy deserved to be stung for trying to dismiss her sacrifice.

"The Commander protected her people on the Mountain. With this alliance, we will _become_ her people. There will be no enemy left to fight. We can finally focus on living instead of just surviving. We can let our children grow in peace." There was another murmur rippling through the crowd, this time much stronger and Pike tensed again, his hand dropping to rest on his rifle.

Clarke turned to Bellamy, though she let her voice rise over the noise again. "Aren't you tired? Of war, of fighting, of blood and death? No one is completely innocent here but if we continue, if you follow _him_ , when will it stop?" She titled her head to Pike, but she wasn't finished yet. "Will you raise our children only to send them to war? Let it end here! Follow me and leave the past behind!"

She had some of them, she could see it in their faces as she scanned the crowd again. Perhaps even most of them. Pike seemed to realize it too. "Enough!" His hand clenched around his rifle once more, his finger even curling around the trigger though he wouldn't point it at her yet. "She will lead you all to your graves. I will not allow my people to-"

Seeing the opening, Clarke jumped in. "Will you stop them from leaving by force, Chancellor?" She asked, her voice low and threatening. Pike looked up at her, his eyes dark and enraged. But he must have seen the shift in the crowd at Clarke's words, the way they looked at him when they thought he might be a threat. His guards were armed but they were surrounded and outnumbered.

Or perhaps there was still some good in him and raising arms against his own people was a line he wasn't willing to cross. Either way, he deflated and when he spoke, there was no aggression in his voice, only pleading and impotent sincerity.

"The Grounders don't know mercy. They don't know peace. They killed our children without remorse before and they won't hesitate to do worse again. If you leave now, you do so at your own risk." His voice was firm and it carried. Clarke could see some people nodding, but most seemed conflicted and uncertain. "But if you stay, I can protect you. We have strong walls and we have _guns_. We can push them back." He turned to Clarke again. "Don't listen to the woman that left you for months. Who stayed in the enemy's seat of power and came back unscathed, promising the impossible when she returned. Do not be that naïve. Nothing on the ground is this simple."

The speech was convincing, Clarke had to admit, but he made a fatal error in trying to discredit her. Not once, but twice since they started talking... and she could use that. She straightened atop of her horse. "My people know what I'm willing to do for them, Pike; how deep my loyalty goes. They've seen it at the Mountain. They know I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't think it was the best way for all of us." She called out to the crowd. "You've trusted me before and I've kept us alive. _Trust me again_."

Pike ground his teeth together, knowing there was nothing else to say. "If you decide to go to your death, you won't take anything from here. I'm not giving what little we have for grounders to take off your corpses."

Clarke nodded, unconcerned. "Take only your personal belongings. The Commander will provide the rest." The crowd started to disperse, first slowly, then in increasing numbers as more people gathered the courage. All of Pike's guards remained unconvinced though, and a good number of people in the crowd stayed put, their faces defiant. Bellamy stayed as well and Clarke turned from him to Octavia, who stayed silent through the whole ordeal, fixing her brother with a look of her own.

"Lincoln." She breathed when her eyes connected with Clarke's finally and Clarke nodded at her.

"Go." She said. "I've gotta go find my mom." She hurriedly dismounted, avoiding Pike's eyes as she tried to swerve around him. He grabbed her arm, stopping her in place. The crowd tensed around them and even Bellamy looked like he might jump in, but Pike only leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"You will be dead before tomorrow, you know that right?"

She shook him off and continued walking, throwing one last remark over her shoulder. "One of us will, that's certain."

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It took them better part of the day to reach the grounder camp on foot. Lexa was already there when they arrived and they had a small ceremony right then and there, amidst the somber Grounders – a shortened version of their first entry into the coalition. They didn't have time for more; night was going to fall soon and the attack would have to be underway.

Immediately after, Clarke left her relieved but saddened people and went to look for Lexa, finding her in her tent readying for the battle. She rushed forward, her emotions getting the better of her, yet she was still surprised when she got enveloped into a firm hug.

"Well done." Lexa said into Clarke's hair, squeezing her one last time before pulling away. Or at least trying to. Clarke kept a firm grip on her hips and Lexa smiled. It was comforting that this was getting to be a common occurrence. "A lot of them followed you. Just as you thought."

"Not as many as I'd hoped." Clarke said.

"You did all you could for them." Lexa lifted her hand to Clarke's cheek, cupping it gently. "You can't save people from themselves. They made their choice. Now they will pay for it."

Clarke nodded and Lexa paused for a second before speaking again in a more pleading tone. "I was hoping that you would be content and let me do the rest. Stay here tonight during the battle."

Clarke sighed. "Agreed."

When Lexa just blinked at her Clarke lifted an eyebrow in question.

"I just thought it would be harder to convince you." Lexa seemed amused again but Clarke was having none of it.

"I'll leave the actual fighting to you and your warriors. And Octavia." Truth be told, she didn't exactly _want_ to fight the people she once knew on the station. Even if she had the skill.

She definitely wasn't even close to Lexa's level. The Commander was quick and smart and could fight dirty. Still, Pike had guns and that could mean…

She let the thought trail off, unwilling to finish it. Instead she curled her fingers around Lexa's neck and brought her in for a slow kiss. It was chaste but reverent, all soft lips and bated breath and it was over before either of them would have liked. Clarke retreated though there was nothing more she wanted than to lean in again and deepen the contact. When she spoke again, her voice was rough with emotion.

"Be careful." She said, surging into another hug when Lexa smiled at her and nodded.

 _Come back to me._

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 _How much fucking longer will this take?_

Clarke had seen a man die – had murdered a man – and she understood how a life can be taken in mere seconds. Here one moment, gone the next. She supposed she expected battles to be similar.

But this one was going on for hours now, stretching the night into an eternity, and Clarke was getting more restless by the second. She'd watched when Lexa ordered the archers forward, covering them with shield bearers as they pelted Arkadia with flaming arrows. They'd persisted for hours, tiring the defenders before the infantry could move in. When they did, Lexa lead the charge.

Clarke couldn't bear to watch then, even from afar, couldn't listen to the screams and the gunshots and the clash of metal, knowing that Lexa was in the middle of it, her red sash distinguishing her from the rest of her soldiers and marking her as a target. Couldn't bear the thought of her being wounded, or even worse - losing her now just as she was…

She shut down the thought mercilessly, continuing her frantic pacing while trying not to think about what was going on outside. It seemed like hours had passed before the sounds died down. Suddenly she could hear a galloping horse approaching, the few guards outside cheering ' _Heda! Heda!'_ over and over again.

Heart leaping to her throat, Clarke hurried to the tent flap but Lexa was already entering and taking a few tired steps inside.

She was covered in blood, absolutely _caked_ in it, and Clarke's relief died as if extinguished, worry settling low in her stomach. Red - it looked _red_ \- but she couldn't be sure if all of it was. She _had_ to make sure.

She lifted her shaking hands to Lexa's coat and unbuttoned it, pushing it off her shoulders. Tears fogged her vision and she blinked them away, reaching for a basin and a washcloth before leading Lexa to sit on her bed.

"I am fine, Clarke."

Clarke ignored her and dipped the cloth into water before lifting it to Lexa's face. It was covered in dirt and blood, the war paint smudged – an unwelcome reminder of her betrayal at Mount Weather – but Clarke was too frantic to think about things now forgotten and forgiven.

She moved the washcloth gently, reverently over Lexa's forehead and high cheekbones, washing the battle off her and revealing soft, unbroken skin. With each move of her hand, Clarke felt as if she could breathe a bit more freely.

"We won. Few casualties on our side. It is done." She stopped Clarke's hand when it was clear Clarke was drawing the wet cloth over clean skin, her hands still shivering. Clarke pulled her hand back and knelt down to work on Lexa's boots. _I have to make sure._

She unlaced them and pulled them off, moving to work on cleaning Lexa's hands. There was single cut on her right palm but it was shallow and clean after Clarke brushed over it. It still made her redouble her efforts.

Lexa's shirt was the next to go, and then her pants. Clarke made her lean back as she unbuckled them and dragged them off, revealing soft skin but nothing else. She wasn't wounded _. They barely even touched her._

Once her pants were off, Clarke couldn't help but drag her hands up all that unmarked skin as she rose to lean over her Commander, letting out a choked sob of relief.

"It's done?" She repeated finally, almost too afraid to ask it even now. It was hard to believe. After all that had happened - after everything they'd been through - that they could be here now. Finally free. "It's _done_." She affirmed to herself again, willing herself to believe it.

Looking down again, she took Lexa in. Perfection obscured only by her black underwear, her skin pebbling under Clarke's still moving hands. She couldn't stop herself, couldn't help but reach out and touch.

Not even trying to fight the urge, she lifted her knee up on the bed before straddling Lexa, watching how her stomach muscles clenched as soon as Clarke's weight settled on her and she let out a revealing short huff of breath. Clarke placed both of her hands on Lexa's stomach once more and then started dragging both of them up, slowly and leisurely, until they cupped Lexa's breasts and the Commander exhaled shakily again.

Clarke dragged her eyes up. Lexa's gaze was wide-eyed and adoring, naked in its devotion, and Clarke couldn't help but lean forward and claim her lips again.

The kiss was nothing like the one before. This one was deep and hungry and demanding, making Lexa moan into Clarke's mouth, her hips eagerly bucking against Clarke.

Biting Lexa's lower lip, Clarke broke the kiss only to spread her legs a bit wider to free Lexa's hips before speaking. "Scoot up."

When Lexa jumped to obey, Clarke settled between her legs again, this time using her knees to spread Lexa's. In the process she lost her jacket to Lexa's wandering hands, but she didn't have the patience to take anything else off when her belt buckle pressed against the thin fabric of Lexa's panties and made the Commander moan again.

Clarke was losing patience quickly. There was a time where she would have sworn she'd never be in this position, where she'd reject the idea as ludicrous. But now, having the woman she loved writhing beneath her, it just felt right. Better than she ever could have imagined. And knowing that this was just the first time of many that would follow didn't make her any less impatient.

She ducked down, melting into Lexa and slipping her tongue into her mouth, swallowing another moan. Her hand drew to Lexa's breast again, pushing her bra up sloppily before returning to cup her gently again, the nipple hardening under her palm. Clarke groaned and brushed her thumb over it in slow, methodic movements, her hips starting to work, grinding into Lexa and shortening their breaths.

Lexa's own hands weren't idle either. Her right rose to clutch Clarke's shoulder, fingers digging in as if trying to hold her as close as possible, and the other one travelled over Clarke's lower back to her ass, pulling her hips harder into her own with each stroke.

It was Clarke's turn to moan, but she wouldn't let herself be distracted. She broke the kiss, giving Lexa's swollen upper lip one last lick before she moved away and started dragging her hand down. Lexa shivered beneath her even before Clarke pushed her hand between their bodies and into Lexa's panties, finding her wet and more than ready.

Lexa let out a soft, needy sound, but blushed as soon as she heard it. Clarke would have none of it.

"Let me hear you." She whispered, her fingers drifting from Lexa's entrance to her clit, her touch light and inquisitive. It still made Lexa's hips jerk beneath her, and Clarke moved her fingers down again, taking a moment to savour the contact before pushing inside.

Lexa's already wide pupils expanded further as Clarke entered her, digits stretching and claiming the tight ring of muscle at the entrance before sinking into wet heat. She felt Lexa flutter around her, tight and needy, letting out another soft mewl.

"Clarke," Lexa choked out, her voice strangled. "I-I can't…I'm going to-" Clarke leaned forward again to kiss her firmly once more before brushing her their noses together, her hand never stopping but never increasing the pace either.

She knew Lexa was close – had to be after waiting _months_ for this – but Clarke still fucked her slowly, languidly, like they had all the time in the world. And when she slid her thumb up to find Lexa's clit, she felt her jerk and tense in response.

"Let me _see_ you." She murmured, drinking in Lexa's reaction. A few more strokes was all it took to push her over the edge and before Clarke knew it, Lexa was already convulsing around her fingers, drawing them further inside. She shook and trembled, her mouth open and her eyes half lidded, falling apart underneath Clarke. _For_ her.

Clarke couldn't get enough of the sight. She surged forward and claimed another deep kiss, pushing further inside with her fingers and milking every last drop of pleasure out of Lexa's body. When she finally relaxed beneath Clarke,sluggish and languid, Clarke pulled her fingers out and brought them to her lips, licking them clean, marveling at the taste.

Just as she decided to sink lower to claim the source with her mouth, she was pushed on her back and Lexa settled over her, as if the sight of Clarke tasting her gave her a new jolt of energy.

Immediately she went to work on Clarke's clothes, practically ripping them off her body, and before Clarke could even think, Lexa was already peppering kisses down her stomach, her eyes never leaving Clarke's.

Not even when she arrived to her target and took Clarke in her mouth, her lips closing hotly over Clarke's clit. They both moaned, Lexa's eyes fluttering shut as if in pure bliss, and Clarke brought her hand up to clench in Lexa's hair as that talented tongue went to work.

Later, when they were both spent and sweaty, Clarke couldn't help but ask.

"What now?"

"Now we rebuild, Clarke." Lexa answered, lazy and enjoying Clarke's wandering fingers tracing her tattoos. "Keep the coalition together and keep the peace."

"Just like that?"

"It won't be easy." Lexa admitted. "I doubt our lives would ever truly be boring. But I do not think I will have much cause to talk about my death anymore." She smiled, teasing. "Or my spirit moving to another body."

"Yes, that would be appreciated." Clarke grinned back, her eyes dropping to take in Lexa's flawless form again. "I'm growing quite fond of this body, thank you." She rolled on top of her lover again before smirking down at her.

"Let me show you just how much."


End file.
